Columbus is poised to hammer landlords with higher fines and more jail time for allowing tenants
to live in unsafe houses.

Mayor Michael B. Coleman’s administration will propose bumping up housing-code violations to
first-degree misdemeanors that carry maximum fines of $1,000 and 180-day jail terms, the same as in
Cleveland.

In Columbus, such violations now are third-degree misdemeanors, punishable by $500 fines and 60
days in jail — the same as for littering.

Dana Rose, the city’s code-enforcement administrator, told Columbus City Council members
yesterday about the proposal during a hearing on possible code changes to hold landlords
accountable for problems at their properties.

“There are some holes in the system that we need to address,” said Councilman Zach Klein, who
leads the development committee.

The full council would have to approve the code change.

Klein and Councilwoman Michelle Mills, who leads the public safety committee, scheduled the
hearing after
The Dispatch’s Legacy of Neglect series, which ran last month and documented systematic
failures in Columbus’ housing-code system and frustrations among community leaders who want to hold
problem landlords accountable.

Raising penalties would help because authorities can use them to push landlords to fix the
problems while they’re on probation, said Assistant City Attorney Shawnda Martin.

The Dispatch also reported this month that it had been a year since City Council members
talked about pursuing new laws to hold landlords responsible for costly multiple police runs to
problem rental properties.

Council members learned yesterday about a Cincinnati ordinance that assesses costs to landlords
for chronic police runs to their properties.

But City Attorney Richard C. Pfeiffer Jr. said he was concerned about due process and an
appropriate right to appeal. “You’ve got to give them notice,” he said. “You’ve got to give them
hearings.”

Klein said officials must come up with effective solutions while not being too burdensome with
regulations.

The city already is taking steps to improve the system.

For example, Coleman plans to add eight code-enforcement officers. Currently, there are 54
officers including supervisors.

Rose said one team will concentrate on cracking down on landlords who face multiple violations.
Another team would work with area commissions to identify neighborhoods that need help.

Betsy Liska, president of the Ohio Landlord Association, said she doesn’t know if the eight
additional officers are enough to address the problems.

She also said that having a new Franklin County environmental judge in place — Judge Dan Hawkins
— should mean that the penalties do not need to be increased.

The Franklin County Municipal Court has asked City Council for an additional $200,000 for
another environmental specialist and a staff attorney who could also act as a magistrate.

The hearing is the first of several discussions planned to address the issues.

“There is a very delicate balance, but one we’ve got to work through,” Councilman Hearcel Craig
said. “We cannot lose our central city.”